‘Relentless’ – a podcast about journeys through youth homelessness.

Affordable housing and homelessness

County of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a countywide benefit)

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

The 2023 PIT Count identified more than 4,600 young people experiencing homelessness in L.A. They are couch-surfing, they are hiding, they are running. If you, the reader, are a parent, would you consider your child’s couch-surfing to be safe and stable? Or a young person running away from an unsafe placement to be safe and stable? This is how most homelessness in young people manifests, and the steady stream of young people at our shelter doors who were not counted in official surveys attests to that. So, in addition to the obvious triage-centric approaches to serving, housing, and protecting them, how do we amplify their voices? How do we find new avenues to reach them? How can they share the stories of their unique, arduous journeys in a way that enlightens the general public?
The issue we seek to address with ‘Relentless’ is the lack of a personal, artistic, hopeful avenue for youth to share their knowledge.

This half hour podcast will, in its first year, air quarterly. In that year, the producer(s), which will be paid internship positions for young people living on the Covenant House California campus in Hollywood, will learn the ins and outs of podcast production, arranging for talent to share music, stories, and conduct interviews, editing and postproduction, and marketing.
The podcast will drive change through authentic storytelling, providing a safe, anonymous, and empowering space for young people to share their lived experiences. It will raise critical awareness, educating the public about the complex realities and challenges of homelessness. It will feature interviews with changemakers, other providers, congressional representatives, and celebrities who are engaged with the work of eradicating youth homelessness.
Importantly, each episode will dedicate time to informing young people who remain on the streets of available resources, harm reduction tips, and, most importantly, direct encouragement and empowerment.
Of paramount importance is the protection of young people’s anonymity when they want it. There will be no visual components to ‘Relentless,’ and all those who participate will have input to the editing process to ensure they remain comfortable with the content.

L.A. is at the epicenter of the world’s changing zeitgeists, and much of that comes from the unmatched artistic output of the community. If this work is successful – if metrics demonstrate that people are tuning in and subscribing – the zeitgeist will have added the voices, experiences, and expression of a population that has persevered through more struggle, injustice, and inequity than most can comprehend. L.A.’s artistic output will be informed of the importance of intervening upstream from adult chronic homelessness and embracing the potential of young people as quickly as possible. L.A. will be different when young people who are on the street catch on to a growing movement that focuses on hope and upward mobility and when they encounter more informed, compassionate educators, faith leaders, shopkeepers, bus drivers, or anyone else who increasingly understands the humanity of our young people.